The Effects of on Advertising

By: Joe Student

Submitted to: Dr. Charles Rader

Review of Literature Term Paper

Marketing 620, Fall 2008

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 INTRODUCTION

Effective advertising is an extremely important marketing tool. Understanding color, and

its effects on marketing, can provide a competitive advantage in advertising. Marketing

managers must have a thorough understanding of how variations in color on advertisements

effect the consumer’s perception of the advertisement, the company, and the brand.

ARTICLE ONE: THE EFFECT OF AN ADVERTISEMENT’S COLOUR ON

EMOTIONS EVOKED BY AND AD AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE AD

While there is no argument that the effect of color on advertising is an important factor,

only a limited amount of research exists in this area. Color can be used as a marketing technique

used to influence individual behavior (Lichtlé, p. 37). Because of its potential impact on

individual behavior, color and its effect on advertising is an important area of study in the

marketing field. Through the examination of individual’s reactions to various advertisements

this research studies the effects of color on advertising.

Research Question

The main question that this research tries to answer is: “What is the relationship between

the components of a dominant color of an ad (hue, saturation, and lightness) and the resulting

emotions aroused in an individual”? This research also tries to answer the question: “Are the

attitudes towards an ad influenced by the three color components and do they vary depending on

the individual’s optimal stimulation level (OLS)”? There are a limited number of scientific

studies of the effects of color because of methodological problems inherent in the area (Lichtlé,

p. 38). This research attempts to analyze the effects of the dominant color of a print

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advertisement on an individual’s emotions and attitudes towards the advertisement. This study,

unlike any of the other studies in this area, introduces the concept of optimal stimulation level to

explain the relationship between color, the emotions aroused by the advertisement, and the

attitudes towards it. “Optimal stimulation level is the optimal level of stimulation or ideal

arousal to which all individual behavior strives and which an individual will attempt to maintain

or reestablish” (Lichtlé, p. 41). Optimal stimulation levels vary among individuals. Individuals

with high optimal stimulation levels look for stimulation, while those individuals with low levels

attempt to avoid it (Lichtlé, p. 42).

The following three hypotheses are presented in this research:

H1: Individuals with high optimal stimulation levels tend to derive more pleasure from an ad
whose dominant color:
H1.1: has a red hue
H1.2: is saturated
H1.3: is bright
H2: Individuals with a high optimal stimulation level tend to be more aroused by an ad
whose dominant color:
H2.1: has a red hue
H2.2: is saturated
H2.3: is dark (less bright)
H3: When an individual has a high optimal stimulation level
H3.1: the attitude towards the ad is more favorable when the ad has a red, rather
than a blue, hue.
H3.2: the more saturated the dominant color of the ad, the more favorable the
attitude towards the ad.

Sources of Data

The data presented in this research came from a variety of sources. Previous research on

color and its effect on advertising was reviewed and analyzed. Previous results of color

preference studies have confirmed that blue and green are preferred to yellow and red, highly

saturated colors are preferred, and there is a preference for very bright colors (Lichtlé, p. 39).

The hue of a color refers to its tint and coloration range. The saturation of a color refers to the

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degree to which the hue is present. The lightness of a color refers to the relationship of the color

with light. Previous studies also show variables that affect color preferences include: gender,

age, and personality traits. It has been suggested that young people prefer warm colors such as

red, while older people prefer cold colors such as blue (Lichtlé, p. 39). Additionally, it has been

suggested that extroverts prefer warm colors while introverts prefer cold colors (Lichtlé, p. 39-

40).

Pre-tests were performed by polling 97 individuals in order to confirm the existence of

effects on emotions and attitudes caused by color in advertising. A second pre-test, conducted to

choose the advertisements that would be used in the primary study, was performed on two

sample groups, each containing 35 students in total.

The primary test was conducted by polling a total of 360 individuals in 16 different cases,

with 72 questionnaires being randomly eliminated in order to obtain identical numbers of

questionnaires per case. In the end, 288 questionnaires were obtained. Each individual

evaluated two advertisements which equates to a total of 576 observations.

Statistical Method and Testing

The purpose of the first pre-test was to confirm the existence of effects on emotions and

attitudes caused by color in advertising. This test was conducted by using a sample of 97

individuals. The existence of such effects was in fact confirmed.

The purpose of the second pre-test was to identify which advertisements and products

should be used in the primary test. Advertisements were selected that met the following criteria:

few verbal elements, no precise color code present, any photography was with achromatic colors

(black, white, and grey). The group of advertisements was narrowed down to six. These six

advertisements were then presented in two opposing colors (blue, weak saturation, strong

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lightness: red, strong saturation, weak lightness) to two sample groups, each containing 35

students in total. This pre-test resulted in the choosing of two advertisements for the primary

study: one for women’s perfume and one form men’s shoes.

The purpose of the third pre-test was to test the reliability and validity of the scale that

would be used to measure emotions. The scale that was utilized is the Mehrabian and Russell’s

PAD (1974) scale. The scale was pretested twice to confirm that emotions were accurately being

measured.

Due to the fact that it has been shown to have an effect on color preferences, age was

considered a controlled variable. The respondents were all students of the same age with similar

cultural backgrounds. Exposure time was controlled by presenting the advertisements to the

respondents in the form of slides. Each slide was presented for 10 seconds. Moderating

variables that were analyzed include: emotions aroused by the advertisement, levels of optimal

stimulation, attitude towards the advertisement, attitude towards advertising in general, and

mood before viewing the advertisement.

Results

The procedures recommended by Baron and Kenny were followed to test the hypothesis.

The results show an interactive effect between hue and optimal stimulation level: when optimal

stimulation level is high, individuals feel more pleasure in viewing ads when the dominant color

is red (Lichtlé, p 49). Hypothesis H1.1 is confirmed. There is a relationship between saturation

and optimal stimulation level, indicated by the results showing that when individuals have strong

optimal stimulation levels pleasures are increased when colors are more dominant. Hypothesis

H1.2 is confirmed. The results show no interactive effect between the lightness and optimal

stimulation levels. Hypothesis H1.3 is not confirmed.

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 The results do not show an interactive effect between optimal stimulation levels and hue.

Hypothesis H2.1 is not confirmed. Also, the results do not show a positive relationship between

saturation and arousal. Hypothesis H2.2 is not confirmed. The results do not show an interactive

effect between optimal stimulation levels and lightness. Hypothesis H2.3 is not confirmed.

The results prove that when individuals have high optimal stimulation levels, their

attitude towards the advertisement tends to be more favorable when its dominant color has a red,

as opposed to a blue, hue (Lichtlé, p. 51). Hypothesis H3.1 is confirmed. Also, the results show

that when individuals have high optimal stimulation levels, strongly saturated dominant colors

tend to create more favorable attitudes. Hypothesis H3.2 is confirmed. The results do not show

that when individuals have high optimal stimulation levels the darker the ad’s dominant color the

more favorable the attitude towards the advertisement. Hypothesis H3.3 is not confirmed.

ARTICLE TWO: EFFECTS OF COLOR AS AN EXECUTIONAL CUE IN

ADVERTISING: THEY’RE IN THE SHADE

When an advertiser is designing a print ad they must decide which color(s) to use as

executional cues in the advertisement (Gorn, p. 1387). “In a marketplace typically characterized

by a cluttered media environment and an often undifferentiated product market, an important

goal of an advertiser would be to select colors that maximize attention, provide a more realistic

and appealing portrayal of the product or service, and arouse appropriate feelings” (Gorn, p.

1387). Business men and women in the advertising field would benefit from a theoretical

framework that detailed the steps on how to choose appropriate colors in advertising.

Research Question

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 The main purpose of this research is to set forth guidelines that could be utilized by

marketing managers in selecting colors to be used for executional cues in advertisements.

Scientific research has identified three dimensions of research as: hue, chroma, and value. Hue

is the pigment of the color. Chroma refers to the saturation of the color. Value refers to the

lightness of the color on the neutral scale. The framework of this research attempts to link the

three dimensions of color to the specific feelings elicited by each dimension, and these feelings

in turn to advertisement and brand attitudes (Gorn, p. 1388).

The following eight hypotheses are presented in this research:

H1a: Those exposed to an advertisement containing a high value versus a low value of color,
used as an executional cue, will feel more relaxed.
H1b: There will be no effect of the value of the color, used as an executional cue in an
advertisement, on feelings of excitement.
H2: Those exposed to an advertisement containing a high value versus low value color, used as
an executional cue, will have a more favorable attitude towards the advertisement, and
feelings of relaxation will mediate the effect of value on attitude towards the
advertisement.
H3: Those exposed to an advertisement containing a high value versus a low value color, used
as an executional cue, will have a more favorable attitude towards the advertisement.
H4a: Those exposed to an advertisement containing a high chroma versus low chroma color,
used as an executional cue, will feel more excited.
H4b: There will be no effect of the chroma of the color, used as an executional cue in an
advertisement, on feelings of relaxation.
H5: Those exposed to an advertisement containing a high chroma versus a low chroma, used
as an executional cue, will have a more favorable attitude towards the advertisement, and
feelings of excitement will mediate the effect of chroma on attitude towards the brand.
H6: Those exposed to an advertisement containing a high chroma versus a low chroma, used
as an executional cue, will have a more favorable attitude towards the brand.
H7: Advertisements with a red versus a blue hue will elicit greater feelings of excitement,
whereas advertisements with a blue versus a red hue will elicit greater feelings of
relaxation.
H8: Hue (red versus blue) of the color in an advertisement does not affect either attitude
towards the advertisement or attitude towards the brand.

Sources of Data
Some of the data presented in this research comes from the analysis of previous research in

the same area. “Many of the articles on the role of color in marketing are anecdotal rather than

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systematic and empirical” (Gorn, p. 1388). It is widely accepted that color in advertising can

create varying degrees of arousal. Past research considers arousal to be unidimensional with an

inverted relationship between the single arousal dimension and affect. This unidimensional

relationship says that increases in arousal are at first pleasurable but there is a point when the

pleasure starts to decrease and tension arises. While this unidimensional view has been widely

accepted in the past, some recent research has suggested that arousal is more complex and may

even be two-dimensional. According to one researcher, there are two dimensions of arousal: one

dimension moves from boredom to excitement and is called excitement while the other goes

from tension to relaxation and is called relaxation (Gorn, p. 1389). An individual can experience

both dimensions of arousal at the same time. This research uses the two-dimensional view of

arousal.

A pre-test was conducted on 15 students to determine which claims should be used in the

stimulus advertisements. The test advertisement was placed in the middle of a professionally

prepared, dummy magazine. The main study was conducted on 156 university undergraduates

from introductory marketing courses

Statistical Method and Testing

The Munsell System was utilized as the calibration system to scale the colors in the test

advertisements. This research limited its investigation to blue and red. In determining which

product to present in the advertisement, the goal was to select a product where no symbolic

association between the product and a particular color existed. After examining different

products paint was selected. An advertisement was created for a fictitious company, Rainbow

Paint.

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. During the primary study, students were given time to examine the magazine that

contained the Rainbow Paint advertisement. They were told that the magazine was being

reviewed as a proposed magazine. The students were then asked to answer a series of questions

on an administered questionnaire. The subjects were asked about their recall of the product

categories and brand names in the advertisements. They were asked about their attitudes toward

the advertisement for Rainbow Paint. They were asked questions that measured excitement and

relaxation. They were also asked questions to measure feelings of annoyance, irritation, and

unhappiness. They were asked questions about their attitudes toward the brand and about the

thoughts and feelings they had when viewing the advertisements. There was also a claim

recognition tasks in which subjects were asked to write down the claims made by the

advertisement. Additional information collected was: demographic data about gender, mother

tongue, and color blindness.

Once the main study was completed two follow up studies were performed. A first

follow up study was performed to make certain that, when used as an executional cue in an

advertisement, the hue of a color does not significantly affect certain feelings. A second follow

up study was performed to investigate how the findings of this research compared to industry

practices.

Results

Once the data was collected it was analyzed using analysis of variance and regression

analysis. “As expected, those exposed to advertisements containing higher value colors report

experiencing greater feelings of relaxation and a greater liking for the advertisement, but no

differences in the level of felt excitement” (Gorn, p. 1395). The results of the regression analysis

show that Hypotheses 1a, 1b, 2, and 3 are confirmed. The regression analysis also shows that

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advertisements with higher chroma colors create greater feelings of excitement, but not

relaxation. They also show that the higher levels of chroma caused the subjects to like the

advertisement more. Hypotheses 4a, 4b, and 5 are confirmed. The results show that

individuals exposed to red experience higher degrees of excitement while those exposed to blue

experience higher degrees of relaxation. However, the results that show the effect of hue on

feelings of relaxation fails to reach statistical significance. Hypothesis 7 is partially confirmed.

Hypothesis 8 is confirmed. Although unpleasant feelings were measured, no formal hypothesis

were formulated or further advanced. The results also show that there is no cognitive effect on

attitudes towards brands and attitudes toward advertisements.

The first follow up study confirms that the hue of a color, when used as an executional

cue, does not significantly affect certain feelings. The second follow up study shows that this

research provides insight into how business men and women choose colors in advertising.

ARTICLE THREE: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION AND COLOR IN

YELLOW PAGES ADVERTISING

“One of the least academically researched media is the Yellow Pages” (Fernandez, p. 61).

Yellow Page advertising is a form of directional advertising that is used to help consumers locate

suppliers of products and services. Advertisers are in need of guidance in terms of designing

yellow pages. Consumer selection is considered to be the most important measure of advertising

effectiveness for Yellow Pages advertisements. The question that arises is: “What makes a

Yellow Page advertisement effective?”

Research Question

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 This research attempts to address the need for further research on two variables of Yellow

Page Advertisements: information (copy) and color. No theoretical research exists that provides

clear support for the effectiveness of including more copy or adding color to an ad (Fernandez, p.

62).

Reasons for using the yellow pages range from choosing a store from which to buy, to

choosing a product to buy, to locating a supplier of a particular product. “All of these decision

tasks involve considering one or more alternatives, the “consideration set” before choosing one

or more advertisers to call, visit, or buy from which will be termed the “calling set” for research

purposes” (Fernandez, p. 62).

The following seven hypotheses are presented in this research:

H1: The number of advertisers included in consideration of users of the Yellow Pages will be
larger than the number of advertisers included in their calling sets.
H2: All users are more likely to include ads with specific information than ads with general
information in their consideration sets.
H3a: All users are more likely to include ads with specific information than ads with general
information in their calling sets.
H3b: All users are more likely to select ads with specific information than ads with general
information as their first choice.
H4: Ads with color are more likely to be included in the consideration set than ads without
color.
H5a Ads with product-enhancing color are more likely to be included in the calling set than are
ads that only use attention-getting color.
H5b: Ads with product-enhancing color are more likely to be selected as the first choice than are
ads that only use attention-getting color.
H6: Ads that use attention-getting color but do not contain specific information are most likely
to be eliminated from the choice process.
H7: Ads that use color to substantiate specific information are most likely to be called first.

Source of Data:

The information in this research came from a variety of sources. Previous research in the

same field was analyzed and presented. In terms of information in Yellow Pages advertising,

past research suggests that because ads with more information have greater opportunity for

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relevant information, they are preferred. Two researchers, Jackson and Parasuraman found that

larger Yellow Pages advertisements were more likely to be chosen than smaller ads, while two

other researchers, Kelly and Hoel found that advertisement size did not affect respondent’s

rankings of Yellow Pages advertisements (Fernandez, p. 63). Due to these inconsistencies,

further research is necessary. In terms of color, past research suggests Yellow Page

advertisements with color may attract more attention than those without color. One researcher

found that color advertisements were viewed longer than those lacking color. However, some

research suggests that it does not appear that color makes advertisements more effective in

Yellow Pages advertising. Again, inconsistencies lead to the need for further research.

This study consisted of a mall-intercept study in which 601 subjects were recruited in

three cities. These subjects viewed simulated Yellow Pages advertisements for florist or

caterers. The advertisement information presented was either generally stated or specific to the

product involved. Some of the advertisements contained color while others were black and

white.

Statistical Method and Testing

“The following mixed factorial experimental design was used: 2 (information: specific

vs. general) x 3 (color: none, attention-getting or product-enhancing) x 2 (classification florist vs.

caterers). The qualified 601 subjects from three cities were offered five dollars to participate.

The participants were interviewed by professionals. They were told that as a thank-you for

participating they were being registered in a drawing for roses (florists) or a party-tray (caterer)

worth $50. They were given a two page spread of advertisements, which simulated a Yellow

Pages advertisement, for whichever offer they had received, roses or a party tray. They were

then presented with a survey containing questions about the advertisements that they had viewed.

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Regression analysis was used for testing the results significance.

Results

The calling set consisted of the first choice plus the other advertisements that the

participants indicated they would call if their first choice was not available (Fernandez, p. 68).

The consideration set consisted of the advertisers that subjects indicated they had considered but

decided not to call (Fernandez, p. 68). A regression analysis was prepared for the results of the

questionnaires. Hypothesis 1 was confirmed.

Since the dependent variables were the frequencies for each of the six types of test

advertisements (2 information conditions x 3 color conditions), log-linear models were used to

analyze the data. There was a significant main effect for information on the composition of

consideration sets and first choice, therefore Hypotheses H2, H3a, and H3b are confirmed. The

log-linear model was ran on the consideration set data with the color data recoded to compare

any type of colored advertisement with the non-colored advertisements. There was a significant

main effect for color on the composition of consideration sets. Hypothesis 4 is confirmed.

Results indicated that color advertisements were more likely to be considered than non-colored

advertisements. After running the log-linear model on the calling set data with the color data

recoded to compare advertisements that had attention-getting color with advertisements that that

had product-enhancing data, the results indicated that the advertisements with product-enhancing

color were more favorable than those using color merely to get attention. Hypotheses H5a and

H5b are confirmed. The statistical results indicate that advertisements that used attention-getting

color were the most likely combination to be eliminated from further consideration. Hypothesis

6 is confirmed. The statistical results indicate that advertisements containing specific

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information and relevant color were the most likely combination to be called first. Hypothesis 7

is confirmed.

CONCLUSION

Although there is a limited amount of research on the effects that color has on

advertising, the three articles summarized in this paper provide useful information for marketing

managers. In order to be a truly effective advertiser, marketing professionals must fully grasp

the concepts of the effects that color has on advertising.

REFERENCES:

Fernandez, K. V., & Rosen, D. L. (Summer 2000). The Effectiveness of Information and Color
in Yellow Pages Advertising. Jouranl of Advertising , 61-73.

Gorn, G. J., Chattopadhyay, A., Yi, T., & Dahl, D. W. (1997). Effects of Color As an
Executional Cue in Advertising: They're in the Shade. Management Science, Vol. 43, No. 10 ,
1387-1400.

Lichtlé, M.-C. (2007). The Effect of an Advertisement's Colour on Emotions Evoked by an Ad

and Attitude Towards the Ad. International Journal of Advertising , 37-62.

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